Aug 1, 2011 2 min read jennfer mccann

Levi Aron’s Lawyers Go On Defensive During Interview

DIGIPIX — (photo credit: Jesse Ward for Daily News)

Our second President John Adams, in his old age, called his defense, as a young attorney, of the despised British soldiers who perpetrated the Boston Massacre in 1770 “one of the most gallant, generous, manly, and disinterested actions of my whole life, and one of the best pieces of service I ever rendered my country.”(from law2umkc.edu)
Perhaps Jennifer McCann and Pierre Bazile comfort themselves with these pages from history. That one of our country’s founding fathers, boldly and against popular public opinion, sought to provide a vigorous defense for men accused of the unspeakable act of killing unarmed civilians may give them some peace of mind.

In yesterday’s Daily News, reporter Orin Yanev profiled the lawyers of accused child killer Levi Aron.

Defense attorneys Pierre Bazile, a 14-year NYPD veteran and Jennifer McCann, who graduated St. John’s Law School on a scholarship, are poised for what may the biggest challenge of their combined 8 years as lawyers- defending “the city’s most despised killer.”

Aron is due to appear in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Thursday.

“It’s not about defending his actions,” 30-year-old lawyer and Michigan native McCann told the News. “It’s about defending his rights.”

Bazile told reporters that Levi Aron’s family requested that he defend the man who allegedly kidnapped and dismembered 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky. He enlisted McCann’s help after co-defender Gerard Marrone, the father of three young boys, abruptly resigned.

“I’m taking this case because a family asked me for help,” Bazile said during his 2-hour interview with the newspaper. “If you want to be an attorney you defend the client that’s in front of you.”

The results of Aron’s psychiatric tests are expected to be released to the defense team this week. They say they’re prepared to use an insanity defense, but only after their experts give the green light.

According to the article, they are also preparing to ask that the trial be relocated, citing extensive coverage of Leiby Kletzky’s murder by the New York media as harmful to the objectivity of potential jurors.